Welcome back to another “episode” of Disney Stuff.
It’s been warm here in New York. “Warmest March Ever!” read a headline in the paper just the other day. As it gets warmer and warmer and spring break starts to settle in, it was time to venture into the attic and pull out some of our Easter decorations. Truth be told, we don’t have all that much Easter stuff and just about none of it is Disney related. As shocking as that may sound, there are just a few little things in the Easter box that are from Disney. Finding them and digging them out inspired…what else…a Disney Stuff article!
This time it’s my wife Diane’s collection that is the basis for an article. Diane has always been a Winnie the Pooh fan. Truth be told, she’s more of a Classic Pooh fan. So am I, really. I think we both love the simplicity and warmth of the Classic Pooh artwork. That said, Diane has a small collection of porcelain hinged boxes—sometimes referred to as trinket boxes—and many of them feature everybody’s favorite, that silly old bear Pooh.
One company, Midwest of Cannon Falls, made all of her Pooh boxes. This was not intentional. She has several other boxes in her collection, but all of these Pooh boxes happen to be from the same designer. Midwest of Cannon Falls is located in Cannon Falls, Minnesota and has been designing and distributing giftware and home décor products for many years now. They are probably one of the biggest sellers of porcelain hinged boxes out there. All have a similar style. All have the trademark brass hinge mechanism. Some have messages inside.
My amazing wife Diane is a successful business owner and a tough as nails marathon runner, but one of the many things I love most about her is just how much of an old softy she can be when it comes to Winnie the Pooh. So, let’s take a closer look at some of Diane’s Disney Stuff, her collection of Classic Pooh Porcelain Hinged Boxes.
Here are the two that inspired the article: the Easter boxes. The larger of the two features Tigger and Pooh atop flowers and grass. Pooh is holding an Easter basket filled with eggs and he is handing one wrapped in a bow to Tigger. This is an unusually large box.
The Pooh and Tigger Easter porcelain hinged box. Photo by Chris Barry.
The second is more of the typical size and features Eeyore painting an Easter egg for Pooh.
The Eeyore Easter porcelain hinged box. Photo by Chris Barry.
While these aren’t boxes, these two Classic Pooh Easter ornaments are made by Midwest Of Cannon Falls as well. They were in the same box and considering the time of year, I thought I’d throw them in.
The Tigger and Piglet Easter ornaments. Photo by Chris Barry.
Back to the boxes; here’s one of my favorites. It’s Pooh raking leaves. Inside this box is the message, “A Bothersome Procedure.” It seems Pooh and I feel the same way about raking leaves!
The Pooh Raking Leaves porcelain hinged box. Photo by Chris Barry.
We head back into winter for this box as we see Pooh putting on his ice skates. The message inside reads, “A Wintery Sort of Day.”
The Pooh and his Ice Skates porcelain hinged box. Photo by Chris Barry.
Rounding out the collection we have several Christmas boxes. Here’s Pooh holding his Christmas present for Piglet. Inside this box, it reads, “Giving is Grand.”
The Pooh Christmas Present porcelain hinged box. Photo by Chris Barry.
Pooh is seen here wearing his Santa hat and riding on a rocking horse.
The Pooh Christmas Rocking Horse porcelain hinged box. Photo by Chris Barry.
Finally, here’s Pooh giving Piglet a boost to put the star on the tree. The message inside reads, “Christmas is Magic.”
The Pooh and Piglet Christmas Tree porcelain hinged box. Photo by Chris Barry.
The Pooh porcelain hinged boxes are readily available on the collectible secondary market. There are many of these for sale on sites like eBay right now in decent displayed condition for under $20. However, many of these shown here are retired. If you look on a more serious collector site, these can be had in pristine condition in their original boxes for around $80-$90 each.
These boxes are well made, beautifully detailed, and are great decorations during the seasons they represent or can be displayed as entire collections all year long. We keep most of ours in their boxes until it’s their time to shine for their respective time of year.
Midwest of Cannon Falls has made many, many different lines of porcelain hinged boxes; everything from I Love Lucy, to Harley Davidson, to Pez dispensers to…yes…read this carefully…a porcelain hinged can of Spam.
For the Disney fan, in addition to Classic Pooh, I’ve seen Mickey and Minnie, various princesses, characters from Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, The Seven Dwarfs, and even Kermit the Frog.
They’re a great, subtle, classy, collectible to have in your home and we always love it when they come out and take their place on the hutch or on the fireplace mantle for a holiday season. Many thanks to the love of my life for inspiring this article.
So, enjoy your Easter or your Passover (or just enjoy your spring break) let me know what you think of these Classic Pooh porcelain boxes, and I’ll see you next time with more of that great Disney Stuff.
